Sunday, October 31, 2004

I cracked on with the log caddy, but having finished the slatted shelves I ran on one, I ran out of screws for the other. No major problem as I knew I'd have to get some more feather-edge anyway. So off I went to sunny Littlehampton... no quick trip this, however. Traffic along the by-pass was terrible. Nose-to-tail, crawling along like the M25 during rush-hour. Never found out what the reason was... I guess it was just the usual Sussex drivers trying to see how slowly and badly they can drive.

Arrived back, eventually, and completed the caddy, and also put a side on the one I started last week-end. Half way through I realised I'd been putting the feather-edge on upside-down! Stupid boy. It'll just have to stay like that now. It still needs some paint, but essentially it's ready for the arrival of the logs.

The Silver Vixen also spent the day in the garden, tidying up various bits and pieces, and also putting down black membrane over the stumps of the recently removed hedges. Hopefully that will stop them from starting to re-grow.

It really was a glorious day. Wall to wall blue sky, and pleasantly warm until the sun started to go down.

So the clocks went back an hour last night, and we are back on GMT. What a ridiculous fiasco this is twice a year.

The reason all this started, apparently, was to aid the farmers who would work from dawn to dusk, and in the far North this became unsocial in the winter. Well that's just stupid. The number of hours of daylight is the same whatever you call them.

In recent years the government's excuse has been that it is safer for kids to travel to school in the daylight... errr, what about travelling home in the dark?

I think we should timeshift by an hour. i.e in the Winter we should be at GMT+1, and in the summer GMT+2, thus enabling us to have better and longer evenings when the majority of people want to socialise.

Bright grey morning so far, with blue bits here and there. Should be able to finish log caddy without too much trouble today. The Silver Vixen is raring to get out into the garden.

Saturday, October 30, 2004

A super day. Finished building the frame for the log caddy by mid-afternoon. Should be able to finish it off easily tomorrow, as long as the the weather holds. (Will need to pick up some more feather-edge for the roof).

Went along to see Angus. He performed his usual 5 minute wonder and gave me a good trim. Sounds like he's fighting off a cold.

When I got back the Silver Vixen had returned. She had had a good time at the patchwork exhibition, but admitted she spent most of the time talking with various people she bumped into. (Maybe new glasses are needed).

Debated the paint issue for the fire-surround... and decided to try Wickes. They came up with a spray paint suitable for 425C. This seems more sensible to me.

Just looked at the football scores. Spurs lost (bit of a pain, but Fulham do seem to be a problem team for them). Saints held the Gunners to a draw, which was superb given their recent form. Best of all, Man Utd's "must-win" came at Pompey ended with a 2-0 win for Pompey. First-born will be delighted as that takes Chelsea to joint top with the Gunners and gap with MU has been opened up further.

Ahhh that's nice. Second-born just popped in to return the step-ladders. She didn't stay long, as she was rushing off to Chichester. As first-born is in bed (having worked nights) they didn't see each other, but second-born hoped they would get together tomorrow.

Really lovel autumn morning, quite warm and bright sunshine. Have cut out all of the components for the log caddy, but had run out of 30mm galvanised screws. Quick trip to Focus got the screws, but the other item on the shopping list was the paint for inside the fireplace. Couldn't find that, so went on to Rustington and went to Stacey's. They had some paint but it was only certified to 200C... that seems a little low to me.

Call from first-born first thing. She has been working nights, and now has a few days off, so was rushing for a train to come and stay with us for the week-end. That'll be nice. She seemed bright and breezy... and should be here soon.

Weather looks quiet, dry and bright. Hopefully should be able to build a log-caddy for the garden. The Silver Vixen has arranged for some logs to be delivered in the next few days, and I'll need somewhere to stack them, and keep the worst of the weather off.

The Silver Vixen is off to an exhibition in Littlehampton today, so will be out for a few hours.

Friday, October 29, 2004

Work's over for the week. Took the car for a little spin to try and find the Dairy Community Centre in Littlehampton. The Silver Vixen is planning to go to an exhibition there tomorrow. Couldn't actually find it in the dark, but having checked on Multimap, she now knows where to look tomorrow.

The car is nice, I must say. Suspension is a little firm, but will soon get used to that. Lots of bells and whistles, like automatic lights when you leave the car, lighting the way to the house.

Have been along to pick up the new car. Salesman was very attentive and helpful. Took me through every aspect of the car, and finished off by presenting me with a bottle of engine oil and and a bottle of wine. Note to self, don't mix up the bottles!

Thursday, October 28, 2004

The Silver Vixen decided that she fancied some aromatic crispy duck tonight... so we got a Chinese Take-Away for the first time in months. (As a rule she isn't too keen, so this took me by surprise). Anyway, it was delicious.
I have retreated to the safety of my study (as have most of the male population of the country, I suppose), because Eastenders is about to start.

Posted off some expenses at lunchtime. Walked back along the beach. The sea was still rough from yesterday's storm, but it was bright and warm. If I can work out how, a picture should illustrate this soon !

The current client finally got back to me late afternoon with markup for my report. looks fairly minor, and shouldn't take long to turn around.

I have finally succumbed to the hype, and this is the opening entry for the Gorse Fox's web log.
Not totally sure how I will use it yet. I guess it will evolve and flourish, or wither and fade. Welcome to my world !